Expanding prekindergarten access should remain a priority for Vermont legislators, according to the state's education secretary Zoie Saunders, who joined Vermont Edition for a live roundtable conversation about pre-K this afternoon.

Cornerstone Housing Partners plans to convert the former Loretto Home, a level III residential care facility that closed in 2023, into both permanent and temporary housing units.

A bipartisan group of Vermont House lawmakers traveled to Israel last week on a four-day trip sponsored by the Jewish state as it faces growing criticism in America and abroad for its conduct in the Gaza war.

The two-hour trip to the U.S.-Canada border, led by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, hosted elected officials, municipal leaders, trade representatives and business owners from Quebec and Vermont.

State regulators have issued a fire ban as drought conditions continue to intensify across the state and fire danger is now high in every Vermont county.

A Burlington police officer shot at someone Sunday night after an hours-long standoff at a housing complex. The person who was shot at is in custody and receiving medical treatment for injuries, according to the state police press release.

Many communities in our region are home to a growing number of people who face multiple challenges at once: mental illness, substance use disorder, a criminal past, or homelessness. Vermont communities are testing out new approaches to address these issues.

"It's a really cool process that we get to watch, that trees are preparing for winter," says Alexandra Kosiba, extension assistant professor of forestry at the University of Vermont.

Humans invented the atlatl thousands of years ago for use as a spear-throwing hunting tool. Now, they are the passion of a group of hobbyists and anthropology lovers who see the atlatl as a way to learn about history and have fun.

Eight municipalities in Vermont have adopted "situation tables" — regular meetings of law enforcement and social services agencies meant to coordinate responses to intertwined social challenges, like poverty and addiction, that can sometimes lead to crime.

Reporter Erica Heilman and Susan Randall, a friend of 30 years, catch up after a difficult year.

Research shows certain types of berry bushes and shrubs provide better nutrition for birds. And there is still time to plant some bushes before the birds ride out the Vermont winter or head south.

Chris Hughes, the assistant water and wastewater operator for the towns of Cavendish and Proctorsville, is participating in a new project focused on finding ways to secure the sprawling, complex network of infrastructure across the United States.

A Warren artist and animator was recently honored with a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Motion Design for her work on the Amazon MGM docuseries "Octopus!"

Wildfire has long been a part of life for many Americans. But recently, as wildfires have become larger, more destructive and longer-lasting, a new risk has come into focus for millions across the country: wildfire smoke.

A big shakeup in health care this week as University of Vermont Health Network President and CEO Sunny Eappen announces he's stepping down. Plus, Gov. Phil Scott signs an executive order to spur housing production.

Much like how any book can be a beach read if you try hard enough, any book can be the perfect cozy, blanket-worthy, fall/winter read if the temps outside deem it so.

🍂 The trees are showing off, seasonal roads are still open, and you don’t even need snow tires yet. So, we’ve gathered some of Vermont Public staffers’ favorite driving routes and suggested some stops along the way.

Rutland’s sculpture trail will unveil its newest addition Friday. The 13th statue in the series honors a local doctor who identified the first polio epidemic in the country. Read more: www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2...

Rob Dow, the head coach of the University of Vermont men’s soccer team, is celebrating his 100th career win. Dow, who became head coach in 2017, is the third person in program history to reach this milestone. Read more: www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2...

"The funding that we lost disproportionately impacts ... local stations in rural and low-income areas," Vermont Public CEO Vijay Singh told Homegoings. "If this sticks, and if more people sort of believe this angle and buy into this angle, America is worse off."

Negotiations came to a breaking point in August after an affiliate of Beacon Mobility locked drivers and monitors out of their offices in Brattleboro, launching picketing that bled into the start of WSSU’s school year.

Sunil “Sunny” Eappen, the president and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network who has faced mounting criticism as health care costs have soared in the state, is resigning. www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2...

All three members of Vermont's congressional delegation say that Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Their statements, all issued Wednesday, came one day after a United Nations commission came to the same conclusion.

Vermont’s announcement is the latest example of a state splitting with the federal government as the Trump administration increasingly breaks with the medical establishment on immunizations.

Vermont law allows police to use deadly force if they’re facing an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, and if there’s no other alternative.

Vermont Public's Jenn Jarecki sat down with Natalie Neuert, a senior lecturer in music and the director of the UVM Lane series, to talk about this year's lineup and the series' storied past.

NEW: There has been no comprehensive accounting of how much money Vermont poured into building housing since the Covid-19 pandemic, and how many homes it helped create. Vermont Public and @vtdigger.bsky.social pieced together the data.

This week's Made Here premiere, "New Neighbors: The Beavers of Allen Brook," investigates beaver activity in Williston, the origin of the species, and how beavers fight climate change.

The Rutland City Police Department is encouraging members of the public to use a space in front of their building to safely buy, sell or exchange goods from websites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

The new contract largely mirrors the previous agreement, though there are two differences: There’s no expiration date, and the feds will pay a slightly higher rate to hold people in Vermont.

The Long Trail is the oldest long-distance trail in the country — hikers come from all over to scale those 273 miles through the Green Mountain National Forest. It's not easy, and two women recently broke records for their quick journeys.

Vermont took in $55.2 million in estate tax revenue during the fiscal year that ended June 30, more than double the previous annual record. State officials and economists say it signals the beginning of a longer-term trend that could help boost government funding and close the state’s wealth gap.

NPR executives are scanning the horizon for storm clouds even as they are planning a stand-pat budget for the upcoming fiscal year: They don't yet know how badly NPR local member stations have been hurt by the July vote by Congress to cease all federal funding for public media.

Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield is leaving the ice cream brand after 47 years, saying that the independence it once had to speak up on social issues has been stifled by parent company Unilever.

Vermont placed a moratorium on school construction aid nearly two decades ago, and a conservative state estimate now pegs the price of deferred maintenance at upwards of $6 billion.

The Green Mountain Care Board went into this year’s budget review process with an ambitious goal of reining in costs, as insurance premiums in Vermont have seen double-digit increases over the past few years.

Immigrants are being detained while going to work, outside courthouses, and at store parking lots in Metro Boston as President Donald Trump targets so-called sanctuary cities in his effort to ramp up immigration enforcement.

A number of gardens across the Northeast and Quebec operate with a collective model, where gardeners work in the same plot and share the harvest equally. The people who help run them say the relationships that members cultivate are part of what makes them special.

"Our hope is that the administration will really reconsider this proposal and will work instead collaboratively with us to meet the needs of the taxpayer," said Steve Howard, the executive director of the Vermont State Employees' Association.

A flash drought set into northern New England this summer, and most of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were in moderate to severe drought in the second week of September, according to the U.S. Drought monitor.

As the climate warms, scientists are working against the clock to solve a mystery about why the Bicknell's thrush, which travels thousands of miles to raise its young on mountaintops across Vermont and the Northeast, is declining.

Ralph Rockwell, a mechanic in Wolcott, has been rebuilding old vehicles since he was 15. His wife estimates they have 29 tractors at the moment.

Roses are true garden classics. From antique to modern, the fun comes in choosing from the myriad types to fit your fancy and landscape. If you love to see shrubs and perennial flowers showing off their colors in late summer and early fall, try modern rose types that are ever-blooming.

The Green Mountain Care Board has ordered UVM Medical Center to level-fund its net patient revenue next year and also reduce its commercial insurance rate by 16%.

A few dozen people attended a Colchester Select Board meeting last week to raise concerns about Malletts Bay Avenue, where a man was fatally struck by a driver last month.

Dean Miller of Cortland Hill Orchard in Brattleboro says his fruit are full and healthy, but he only got about 50% of his normal crop — the lightest in his more than 60 years of farming there.

Gov. Phil Scott has tapped Dr. Rick Hildebrant, chief medical information officer at Rutland Regional Medical Center, to serve as Vermont’s new health commissioner. He also appointed Kendal Smith, a longtime member of his administration, to lead the Department of Labor.

Brave Little State spent 12 straight hours at the Richmond Park and Ride on Labor Day (yes, you read that correctly), where they met trail runners, road trippers, parade goers, and the great grandson of a former Vermont governor. Listen to the episode: www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/brav...

The family of a man who died from an apparent drug overdose in a St. Albans prison is suing the state. The complaint, filed this month in Franklin County civil court, alleges that prison staff didn’t provide adequate care to their son.